KEY POINTS:
Private cars will be banned from Queen St if a range of soft options fails to address worsening gridlock from a $41 million upgrade of the Golden Mile.
Transport chiefs are meeting next Tuesday to consider options, starting with banning private car parking, banning private cars from at least one block during peak hours, to banning private cars altogether during work hours. The measures could last up to a year.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Don
It is too late in Auckland. The authorities have messed up. You should have put in a decent rail system a long time ago. The more the traffic, the more roads the bigger the mess you are in. We should have spent millions on a European train system which could have taken people to Auckland to work whilst they lived away from the city. Quiet, fast, smooth system which the motorists would have left their cars for. Plain and simple.
Robert Fear
In my opinion, Queen Street from Aotea Sq down should be closed to car traffic, with vehicles limited to cross traffic only. There doesn't seem to be any point, except perhaps for couriers, in allowing cars to crawl and thump-thump-thump their way up and down this road which seems barely wide enough for the parking lot it has become - and this is before the roadworks. There is next to no parking on the street so what reasons are there for continued access other than to show off? Leave it to the people who want to do their shopping, perhaps without the traffic mayhem there will be more of us who'll want to go there. Also think of the space that will become available for the various festivals that the down town area is hosting.
Isaac Broome
Queen Street should have the general traffic lanes reduced from four to two, and a light rail electric tram system built in the two lanes nearest the footpaths on either side. The trams could run from Britomart up Queen Street and continue on along Upper Queen Street and along the full length of Dominion Road. The trams would be cleaner and quieter than the buses that currently run up Queen Street and with being electric, they would not be dependant on expensive overseas oil.The tram line could be extended to run along Quay Street and Tamaki Drive out to St Heliers. Many overseas countries are turning again to trams, New Zealand should do the same and help make Auckland become a world class city.
Grant
The problem with so many of the proposed solutions is that they are based on a fixed/rigid infrastructure. Cars, rail, buses, PRT all rely on a massive up front investment in terrestrial infrastructure and the problem people seem to be addressing might be that we have a flawed view of why, where and when people need to travel. The solution may be to revisit whether it is in fact necessary to move people. Do all those people sitting alone in their cars on the motorway need to travel to an office to work? Do parents really need to convey their offspring to kindy and school? People have suggested using technology to do the metering of vehicle usage; well what about using technology to make some journeys unnecessary? How many more people could work from home or from a local telecommuting centre? Could more schooling be conducted remotely? To solve the problem we have to ask the question "Is travel really necessary?"
Susi
It would be great to see Queen Street without cars but with a well functioning public transport system. Originally from Germany I miss streets and shopping areas which are only for pedestrians. I dont see how businesses would be disadvantaged if cars are banned from Queen Street. As long as delivery vehicles are still allowed at certain times of the day (e.g. in the mornings) there shouldnt be a problem.
Andrew Walters
A couple of years ago the council reduced Vincent and Albert St to one lane each way plus (intermittent) bus lanes, while keeping Queen St as two lanes each way. I think this should really have been the other way round, removing cars from Queen St by diverting them to four-lane Albert/Vincent Sts, and keeping bus and foot traffic on Queen.
Phoenix
In Europe, a lot of the streets are open during the day, but by night the automatic bollards comes up to stop the traffic from entering and it becomes a pedestrian friendly space. I think Queen St and a lot of the other streets, i.e Nuffield / High St could also adopt the same idea, this way, the businesses wont be too effected by the reduced traffic during the day, but the people can still enjoy it at night time.
KC
Well whose fault is it and where is the public transport? For anything & everything the administrators compare us to Australia. Do we measure to their public transport standards or even Asia? We stay in Pakuranga and wife works in Ponsonby. Give me one bus that runs directly from Pakuranga to or through Ponsonby. If she has to changes buses to go & return from work in the city & pay for it dearly too why would she not opt for her own car to have luxury of what she earns ands take benefit of the tax that she pays for the roads. I personally know more than 10 families opting not to use public transport due to such reasons. Improve the public transport to meet the standard we require and then talk. I am sure there must be some legal sections for not authorising this. Well, to suit them they change the laws too.
Richard Hayman
Certain streets and districts should definitely have cars banned where this is beneficial to the overall atmosphere and livability of the city. This should not occur without creative and well led initiatives into alternative transport provision ie cycle facilities, mini electric delivery vehicles for business servicing etc.
Sarah
Is the city council mad? They have chosen to proceed with the upgrade in the manner they chose. It is not private car owners fault that there is traffic congestion. To ban the use of private cars on Wueen street would affect many people who work in the city as well as businesses. The only thing left would be buses and the odd tumbleweed drifting through the centre. No one seems to have considered the inconvenience to workers who have car parks there and seem to think that people would magically park blocks away and walk to their jobs. Is the city council going to compensate those who get inconvenienced with this ludicrous proposal.
Antoon Moonen
Pedestrians yes. cars no.
Vivian
As a consumer, I would be much more willing to visit Queen St and spend money there if they made it a pedestrian only area. I am sick of hearing the argument that businesses would suffer if cars were banned from Queen St. Cities I have visited overseas that have banned cars from their streets, from Denver to Shanghai, are testament to the fact that pedestrianised streets are a boon to business. This makes total sense - after all, the feeling of constantly choking on car fumes is the one thing that has made me want to avoid Queen St as much as possible.
Stuart Donovan
Fully support banning cars from Queen Street. The air pollution from private vehicles is enough to stop me from shopping there more often.
Andrew
Yes ban the car and replace the buses with electrified trams.
Matthew
Hey Richard, this is about should private vehicles being banned not service vehicles. I am, all for banning private vehicle in some major centres and believe to do so on part of Queen Street would be a great idea. Has anyone been to Melbourne? Swanston Street has a part of it (called Swanston Street Walk) that is banned to all vehilces except service ones (ie courier vans) and pulic transport. Also part of Bourke Street is only for pedestrians. In Swanston street pedestrians have right of way (except on tram lines of course)it was great when I was there. street performers and cafes made our visit. It would encourage use of public transport - perhaps when you have to use it you will! I believe this would work in Tauranga also from part of Devonport road. Just a note about the courier Richard. They are probably delivering the parcel you ordered!
Paul
All those sweating meat and potatoes people who moan about having to maneuver their decrepit Jap import through roadworks. People in a rush to get to places so dull and depressing that most people would prefer to stay at home and have their eyes gouged out. Tiny shops on Queen St, blaring chart R&B and selling the cheap highly logoed polyester they like to wear. Sitting in their cars with constipation from all the KFC they just ate in the carpark, thinking that the problems on the roads are caused by cyclists and buses. These people are allowed to breed?
Nicky Smith
Why not follow the UK example and set up Park and Ride systems. A free carpark is offered on the outskirts of the city with a bus service into the main centre every 12 minutes. I use the Park and Ride system to get to work and it is fabulous and completely reliable. Parking in my town of Exeter has always been an issue but it is certainly more manageable with the Park and Ride system and at £6 for a weekly return ticket or £2.20 single trip return it is cheaper than normal Stagecoach busses!
Andrew
Why not just ban the people. It would be much simpler.
Rob
As far as I remember, prior to the current upgrades to Queen Street, one of the proposals was to close Queen Street to the public and another was to reduce the traffic. Both of these options were ruled out due to submissions by local businesses claiming that reducing traffic on Queen Street would reduce their business. I was for closing Queen Street and creating street cafes, gardens, seating areas and areas for street performers. A similar project was done is Brisbane years ago and it has proved successful. The downside would be rerouting traffic but I think they should be promoting more public transport and less commuting by cars. There would be the issue of goods and courier vehicles but I think that there could be parking bays for them on streets linking to Queen Street. Controlling traffic like private car bans during peak times would be a plan I would support as it would help reduce congestion. I would like a tax to park in the city of $5 per visit so that people consider leaving there car at home or there local park and ride.
Nita
How long do we and the business and the people working in the city have to put up with the so-called upgrade? It's another way of driving the public to the malls.Queen Street in Auckland compares very badly to other similar sized cities overseas.
Yo Mumma
You should totally ban it. I was walking down it the other day and looked at the few signs that had proposal sketches of what it would look like after the makeover and I was quite saddened to see traffic still in the drawings! i reckon from Aotea centre down to the waterfront needs to be all blocked off, paved nicely with trees and big pretty sculptures (no big scary ponamu waving Maori though). But I mean pretty things like Wellington. Wellington is cool . It has got wicked art everywhere, a friendly open atmosphere and heaps of busking, stalls, markets and entertainment. Let us take a leaf out of their book or Sydneys or Melbournes. More art! More events! More community based productions! Like you could have a stage in the middle where small bands can play or jugglers can do their thing and people could sell their stuff instead of clogging up Aotea square.. Have the markets down the middle of Q st. Yeah that sounds cool. Oh and like coffee stalls in the middle with pretty little park like rest areas..Give our centre back to the people.
Nick R
The city council initially proposed to remove car parking from Queen St and to narrow the roadway to just two broad lanes as part of the current upgrade works. That would have left us with a nice wide pedestrian boulevard with just enough road space for public transport and service and emergency vehicles. But a few vocal local retailers held the council to ransom because their whole livelihoods depended on the one 15 minute park if front of their store. There are no driveways, parking buildings, loading docks or vehicle access ways at all off Queen St, nor are there any side roads that are not more easily reached from other streets. The only reason to have cars on Queen St is so that they can park in one of the 51 roadside carparks. 51 parks times the average vehicle occupancy of 1.3 people means that the majority of Queen St's width is marked for roads and parking to suit just 66 people at any one time! What about the thousands of pedestrians and bus users cramped on the inadequate sidewalks?!
We could have had a fantastic quiet, clean and smog free main street that would serve as a major attraction to shoppers and entertainment seekers. Access from public transport would be greatly improved while access to local parking buildings and private vehicle spaces would have been exactly the same as now. But now we are stuck with a four-lane highway with parking up both sides instead. Is it too late to change the design and widen the footpaths some? A least they will hopefully get it right when they next upgrade Queen St in 30-40 years time.
CS
Yes they should be banned when major road works are taking place. There are plenty of back roads that can be used in the meantime so it seems pointless for cars to delay buses on the main streets just because they can't be bothered to go around.
John Robb
I seem to remember this being done to the Onehunga Mall with great fanfare and once it was nearly dead a few years later the decision was reversed. What makes anyone think that Queen St will be any different? Besides what parking there is within walking distance of Queen St is generally cost prohibitive. Of course one could always get public transport if such an efficient system existed. Yeah right! Struggling home with your shopping on the bus, I doubt NZ'rs are ready for that particular nightmare.
Electra
Banning cars from Queen st? Yes, please do! Many major cities around the world have banned cars from their centres and it makes for a real heart to the city, something Auckland desperately needs. But please, let bicycles through and make some cycle lanes while you are at it! It is an excellent alternative option for those who don't wish to rely solely on public transport or their own feet. Cycle couriers might also prove important for businesses in the centre.
Rakesh
I plainly think that the idea of banning the private motor vehicles from Queen st is terrible and inconsiderate. I mean, hey we pay our taxes too. So I think that I as a law serving citizen should be allowed to use Queen st to get to and fro from work. I can tell you that I will not be the only unhappy person in this topic. Why is it that the busses cannot be redirected to another road just like how they did so when the Civic Centre bus stop was under construction. And anyway everyone knows that Queen street is one of the busiest streets in Auckland and the work that is being done there right now, I think is excessive and therefore is the reason all these commotions and issues are arising. I personally think a work like that should have been advertised to let the public know and so that they can be prepared for such a "screw up". The work on Queen street should have done bit by bit so that so much public will be affected. In your article your saying that busses take 30 mins to get from one end of Queen street to the other instead of 7 mins. Well right now, it takes me also about 30 mins to get through Queen street to get to work where before it used to just take 10 mins. At the end of the day there are more motorists than busses and I plainly think that first priority should be given to motorists rather than busses.
Jeff
All traffic should be banned from Queen St permanently and turned into a pedestrian mall from Mayoral Drive to Quay St. This would create more parking as the side streets become dead ends and traffic diverted to upgraded Streets parallel to Queen.
Chris
To be honest, I believe the problem can be attributed to attitudes as well, I am sure most of us have been trying to get from a to b within the inner city only to have the left hand lane turn into private parking for a taxi, or courier or anyone who suddenly feels the need to make that lane their own personal parking space by simply stopping and turning on their hazard lights. While clearly they are a hazard, this kind of behaviour while unacceptable and probably illegal, is common place and considered perfectly fine by those who enact it. If I had my way I would ban parking within the inner city full stop so that people can get from a to b but that is hardly a rational solution. Having said that is there a rational decision that would apply to irrational attitudes?
Richard
I do not know about Auckland. Have not been there for a number of years, but I will tell you what causes a lot of congestion and traffic problems down south. It is these arrogant courier drivers that do not believe the road code applies to them, so they double park in the middle of a busy street, while they take five minutes to make their delivery, with traffic backing up behind them. It is time the police, and councils stopped these arrogant idiots from doing this. It is beyond me why these idiots, do not believe road codes apply to them, they speed, they cut everyone off, they go through red lights, they double park, they are a hazard to everyone on the roads.
Steve
I think Queen Street should be one-way traffic going down towards the harbour, then utilise Albert St as one way traffic going up. This should, hopefully, generate a few more businesses on Albert St and be the start of a long plan to widen the city.
Hesky
Private car should be banned to drive thru the Queen St!
Wayne
Of course they should. It i's almost at the stage where you take your life into your own hands just trying to get across the road. Come on Auckland Council, get off your butts and do it now so we can get Queen St the way it should be. Or are you waiting for a front page story in The Herald that someone has been killed crossing the road??
Kirstie
What a barmy idea! How are cars going to get to the various little side streets off Queen St for starters? Not all of them link up to other streets. The next question is where would all the Queen St traffic go? Down already clogged Albert St, where all of the North Shore buses run, or the narrow rat route called High St?
Many vehicles need to cross Queen St at some point to get from the Harbour Bridge to the eastern side of the CBD. Would not closing Queen St force the traffic that now travels along Wellesley St and Victoria St on to Karangahape Rd or Customs St instead? Definitely a half-baked idea.
Todd
I have always thought that Queen Street should be closed for all traffic. Like any other City - Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney - where the main street is a pedestrian road. It would solve a lot of problems if Queen Street was a pedestrian way from Customs Street up to Wellesley Street.
Matt
No, absolutely not. Tthe construction should all happen at night times. The people who plan this sort of stuff really need to be held accountable, but it will never happen. The Auckland city Council is a joke, the government not much better. the roading system in Auckland looks to be designed from a theoretical point of view from someone who has never driven on the roads.. I am very glad I do not work in the CBD anymore as parking is overpriced and insecure, the public transport system is completely unreliable and unpleasant to travel on. I pity the fools who work in the CBD.
Nina Kelly
Yes, they should be banned but then where would all that traffic go? Congested other streets around Queen Street can not take the added traffic.
Andrew Atkin
Napier city basically cut cars off from the heart of its main centre (Emmerson street), and it was one of the best things the city had ever done. It totally brought the centre to life as it became dominated with people and open cafes, and not cars. If done strategically it can be a great idea. However, you of course need to look closely at how it will affect other traffic and local businesses to see when/where it is workable. You can definitely go too far with this idea.
Jonathan Andrew
Yes, cars should be banned. We should fly everywhere on fairy wings.
Raj Subramanian
If they could ban cars for roadwork problems why cant they consider these bans as well? 1)When there is heavy rain - heavy water logging on the roads prevents smooth traffic, therefore when there are heavy rains forecast, a ban order should be in place stopping all vehicles in those areas- Prevention is better than cure isn' it?Yah..
2)The school opening and closing hour traffic is holding other vehicles, they should consider banning other vehicles not carrying a student during those hours "hey, another way of ticketing and money earning ways to Police- ..Ush...Dont talk about delays caused by Police checking now"
3)When Prime Minister entourage goes at 150Kms plus per hour speeds to watch Rugby Matches -there is an element of risk to Prime Minister if there is traffic on the road - that is why they should ban all other traffic on those roads (You wont be surprised , most of the underdeveloped/monopolistic countries do that)..Our Prime Minister is above law is it not...Yah. On Queen Street, what will happen to people? Here is another revenue generating idea for the City Council: Stop Private 4 wheelers 10 Kms from Queens Street and make available Two Wheelers for hire at $10 an hour. Those who cannot ride two wheelers can be given a lift by Auckland Traffic Wardens for $50 a trip...anyway Traffic Warden Cars would never be stopped on those Streets...they are paymasters for City Councils. Warning: Councillors and MPs, you may lose people confidence over these measures-I hear a "Who cares" voice from left and right .
John McQuade
If the Auckland governement has learned anything about Aucklanders, they should know that "softly, softly" never works. Close Queen Street to traffic and be done with it. Look at great destinations, such as Sydney, and you will see that they shut down their Golden Mile to car traffic a long time ago. But heck, Sydney, and all the other great destinations, have given the harbor front back to the populace, and where are we on that?! Bowing to big business, as usual.Thank you for this forum.
Darryl Gardner
I think they should be banned from Queen Street and other areas of the city people use, cars contribute to making the city unfriendly and unsafe. It would be a good idea to charge people who bring their cars into the CBD. It is ridiculous to see so many cars for so few people.
Scott
Private vehicles aren't only a problem during this construction time, they're also a problem on Friday and Saturday nights. I am a central city worker who like all other workers sometimes has to work late. One time, I had to catch the last 11:45pm Queen st bus. I waited 45 mins at the bus stop for that bus but it never came. The whole time I was waiting Queen St was full of big noisy cars, inching their way along the street only to do a u-turn and come back. Additionally, a lot of the people in these cars were drunk and somewhat aggressive looking. Close off Queen st to private cars, free the buses up so the link buses do not run back to back and the Queen St buses do not take 15 minutes to go 800 metres from Britomart and liven up the street at night. Heart of Auckland? Not likely. And why dont we shut High St off to cars too and make it a market street, give the tourists somewhere cool to hang out. Aotea square is just not cool. It is s wide open and windy.
George BoothDjJay
Yes ,they should be banned. If you go to Los Angeles and go shopping down Sunset Boulevard, it is stunning not having parked cars and road rage. Also not being able to park on Queen Street might make our rapidly growing "fat" nation get off their butts and actually walk somewhere or maybe shock-horror catch public transport!
Chris Randal
I have been saying for a long time that only public transport and taxis should be allowed in Queen St. No trucks (they can make deliveries at night if the shops want their goods) or cars!
GE Bennett
Absolutely not! Since I moved into the city, this council has done everything to stuff up the inner city. Tabled to stick an unwanted stadium on the waterfront, taken away beautiful trees & replaced them with swamp living untidy cabbage trees, noise in town from "entertainment venues" has made living in an apartment almost unbearable, but now, if this goes ahead, (as they have tabled this idea in the past) for me means I can not get out of town, unless I am forced to drive miles in order to get just a few streets away. People need to get rid of these thoughtless numbskulls at the very next election, as their ideas are costing ratepayers millions.
Cliff Mancer
My view is that Queen St is currently a derelict disgrace. A huge makeover is required so that it is an attractive and safe place to be anytime day or night. This would mean banning vehicular traffic at all times. It should become a delightful boulevard for shoppers and pedestrians extending from K Road to the waterfront with a monorail included.
A.Hooper
Build the tramlines that were earlier proposed for Queen St, to share a lane with buses (depending on frequency). Remove all Queen St car parking and reduce private traffic to one lane each direction. Plant trees, create more piazzas. It's simply not right that the first city seen by most visitors to NZ regularly has worse air pollution than Los Angeles.
Mohamed Ashraf
I do not think private cars should be prevented from Queen St. I think a better way of handling the matter will be thinking of tunnels under the major intersections so we will have nice flow of traffic and also consideing certain times of the day where only buses will be allowed like peak hours may be one hour in the morning and other two in the evening will be ok.
S.Ferguson
Are they nuts! What is wrong with these people? It is s hard enough to attract people to our retail businesses in and around Queen St. Now they want to make it harder still. Thanks Auckland City council. Why do we have to pay for your incompetence? I can not even comprehend where these stupid ideas come from. It is time we had people with proper qualifications in city planning running our city and let these people go back to playing with their Lego sets.
Kris
Banning private cars is one way. Or they could have done it one side at a time.
Martin Ryan
Yes, traffic should be banned from Queen St - permanently. People in general, and especially in Auckland, should be discouraged from using their vehicles as much as possible.
Alex Yovich
Of course private cars should be banned. When is Auckland going to actually catch up with the rest of the world? There should be a zoning initiative introduced like in London - that would solve all our problems! It is so simple!
Andy Smith
What a great idea. Maybe let cars on a few blocks but have buses only on the block outside the Civic to the Town hall and one or two others. We just want to stop the racetrack. Did not the ARC and Walk Auckland suggest this 3 years ago? Queen St will become a place for people to shop like in European cities.
Imm Irvine
Yes, it is a good idea to ban cars during working hours from Queen Street. But in its place, frequent link buses will be good - perhaps to incorporate a wider area via links.
Hayden Judd
Having lived in London for nearly four years I totally agree with a ban / partial ban or congestion charge in the CBD. This city relies far too heavily on private transport and it is no way for this countries premier city (sorry Wellington, I could re-phrase to biggest city). But in saying this, the ARC must front up and put on a reliable, efficient transport system. Since returning from the UK I have been using Auckland's buses, and since they put my monthly pass up by over 10 per cent, the service has become about 50 per cent slower (hello Telecom). Currently my trip from Remuera to upper Queen St takes anywhere from 45 min to 65 min, compared to school holidays when it takes 25min. Time to up their game, and then people will be drawn to public transport and out of cars.
Don Pointon
Oh yes please. At long last we have a small step towards reclaiming Queen Street back from the traffic. It is only sad that this is coming from the perspective of the impact on motorists. What about doing this because of the improvements to those who are following the call and taking public transport? The tourists on foot? Everyone during their lunch break? The others who park outside the extortionately priced parking in the middle and walk the last mile? The students? The residents? The retailers? Anyway, even if the motivation is misguided, let us not stop at the proposed measures. We are years (even decades) behind the initiatives taken in other cities all over the world towards pedestrianisation. (How many of us Kiwis even know that word?) Just because Queen Street is a street, doesnt mean it has to have vehicles on it all the time. Deliveries can happen before 9.30am, some buses taxis and cyclists can venture in and out of specific sections, but that should be enough. Queen Street has sufficient surrounding streets to carry the traffic which uses it today. A move to pedestrianisation is not a brave initiative for a council, nor does it involve some great vision. It is just an acknowledgement of how a city can be improved for its people, in line with many precedents and current environmental trends, and getting on with it.
Michaela Stirling
Queen St should definitely be closed to private cars and become a pedestrian and public transport area only 24/7. Even without the current roadworks, it is car-centred, noisy, full of exhaust fumes from idling cars and a gridlocked embarrassment as the main street of New Zealands biggest city. It only gets worse on weekend nights when the boy racers cruise the strip. Reclaim Queen St for pedestrians! Promote walking and shopping instead
Simon Elder
Given the number of "no right turns" existing in the city at the moment. I have little choice but to use Queen Street to get around or across the city as an inner city resident. Will these restrictions be eased if Queen Street is "closed"? Somehow I doubt it.
Mel Stewart
I believe there should be a total ban on cars and smokers from Queen St. City Council is spending a massive amount of money for the development of Queen St, and yet you can not walk down Queen St without someone nearly getting run over or getting a puff of smoke blown into you. Not to mention the level of pollution in and around Queen St, due to the design of the city centre. Queen St should be only for the purposes of shopping and entertainment. All parking areas around Queen St should be removed and re-established on the outskirts of the city centre.
Maxine
Yes I think they should be banned especially while work is being done. Only have buses, couriers and delivery cars/trucks allowed up & down Queen. There are other roads the people can use in the CBD. You have to look at the long-term picture Queen St needs an upgrade and I know it's going to look great when it is finished.
Richard Brayne
I say ban private cars from Queen Street and only allow public transport. Ideally their should be a tram/light Rail running up/down Queen Street from the railway station to K Road.
Angela
They should be permanently banned on Queen St from the Victoria St intersection up to Mayoral Drive, and there should be a tax on people who want to drive their cars into the inner city during peak times, just like in London, and the money should go to public transport.
Ray E
So the Auckland City Council is trying to get on the Red's bandwagon. Chairman Clark will love the councillors so much. Look, why debate this matter? A council is just a smaller version of the idiots in power. So no matter what the public want, they will never get it. What the hell is happening to New Zealand? Soon s
